AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fun filled experience
Safarihub organised a great safari for me in September.
Two weeks of pure pleasure, far better than I had hoped for. The animals and the parks but also the country, tremendous.
The guide was most interesting and he spoke perfect English. He showed me the countryside and the nature but also he explained the country itself. I knew little of Tanzania before but now I feel like an expert.
I have been to Africa many times but this was the most enjoyable trip.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
6 days Kilimanjaro (Machame route) and 5 days safari
We did the 6 day Kilimanjaro (Machame route) and the 5 day safari tour (Lake Manyara ,Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater).
Price was under $2500 per person for all the basics and no hidden changes for parks. It covered everything except of course tips. We did spent around $450 for tips average for safari, Kilimanjaro, taxis and hotel. Price is good since you get both Kilimanjaro and Safari. And you get not much more for paying a lot more $$$ from the big commercial agencies like Zara and Ahsante or ect... All in all you get same lunch food from all tour companies, same service(now it depends how professional and nice is the crew. Ours were very nice people) but pricing varies a lot between companies. So choosing reasonable pricing with good tour package works best in all cases. Indeed the matter of professionalism and maintenance and availability of gear is the most important aspect when choosing between similar price offers. So after careful research World Tours and Safaris was our choice. Would we recommend them? Yes.
When doing our research it was also very important for us the people that will be our crew are treated and paid fair by their employer.
About Kilimanjaro trip (8/10):
I did succeed climbing Kilimanjaro all the way to Uhuru peak thanks to my crew and my preparedness. Please make sure you bring your prescripted diamox and ibuprofen pills from your home country. It is very important to have them with you no matter what anybody says, no matter you think or read in Internet that you need them or not, because in the end you may need them with high probability. That was our case too.
Food at the Kilimanjaro hike was very good. It is not fine dining but it is more than delicious for the conditions. My favorite was the cucumber soup we had one evening.
Kilimanjaro guides did excellent job. Their number one priority was to get us to the summit and that says enough how much they are reliable.
All the crew was friendly and willing to help if needed. I can absolutely confirm these guys work so hard you have no idea. And I've asked about their ages. They are around 24-35 years old. We were 3 people with 14 people crew. I sincerely thank the porters, cook and guides for all hard work and making our difficult mission in Tanzania fun, easy and possible.
How worth is to pay for mobile toilet? We didn't pay for that and we did not need one. What was available as public restrooms was pretty decent compared to what we've expected. I saw several mobile toilets and by what I saw will tell some of them were more "abused" than the public ones. But if you are a pretentious princess or old lady that has hard time squatting go for it!
About the safari (10/10), Jeep condition(10/10):
The guide and cook we had in this trip did fantastic job. Jeep was in pristine maintained condition. Sometimes the path was so rough we were surprised the jeep was doing so well and never broke and moving fast when we had to go from point A to point B.
Guide did everything possible for us to see the big five (and we did see all the big five animals). My highlight was interesting fight between a young male lion just killed a buffalo and pack of hyenas. Guide has radio (a must for all good safari guides) station which is important for him to get us to the interesting events happening during the game rides. They call them game rides because it is hit or miss regarding what you will see during these rides. I've asked our guide how much experience he has in business. He said 15 years as I can remember.
Cook really poured from his heart into making good dinner, lunch and breakfast. We had some Swahili traditional dishes and food was delicious!
The last day at the Ngorongoro crater camp there was raining cats and dogs and these guys were all wet outside putting all the luggage back in the jeep. We got dry in the jeep as our luggage was dry too. Kudos to these guys!
From our crews I did not hear any whining about tips and insisting when to give them. Of course we had short talk the last days because that is something that has to be arranged properly and we wanted to be arranged properly. These guys are professionals and they did not try to make us feel like ATMs. As expected we also wanted to be good clients and we were prepared to tip them accordingly too before our trip to Tanzania!
Thank you Richard for putting this trip together and providing us with excellent crew.
An advice about hotel accommodation between the tours. The default hotel we were provided had the basics and overall met out needs, but also was cheapest and we did not have to pay extra for something better. But in case please inform yourself, inquire and do research what hotel will meet your needs.
About Kilimanjaro:
FOUR TIPS I've learned and used to avoid the altitude sickness.Those will help you avoid and weaken the effect of altitude sickness.
TIP 1: Drink water at least 3 litters every day/hike! Drink it regularly when hiking and not at once.
TIP 2: Eat consistently! You need energy. Do not force yourself to eat too much consciously knowing that you already are full so after that you will need to vomit... for sure. Do not rush to go to bed after having a heavy meal.
TIP 3. Sleep any time you can and as much comfortable as you can! Failing resting will fail you summit the peak and I guarantee you that.
TIP 4. Keep up with your pace even it is too slow. If you feel you are the quickest bunny in the pack try to stay after the person who has slower pace than you. This will help you not to burn out. I was the quickest in my group and on purpose I was resting behind the second quickest person in my group.
If you start having headache when in camp do not lay on the ground trying to sleep, it will get worse. Just drink some water and take a small walk or at least sit. It will help.
i had no experience because i had to cancel and couldnt go
i phoned one of the operators and tell her i have to cancell due to circumstances and she said to me that they cant refund me but what i can do is making another booking within one year and i must try to book outside school holidays. When i tried to make another booking they said that i didnt make a booking within a certain time and now i have lost my money. i talked to Pascal and he said he will come back to me but nothing happened , the lady said that i have one year to make another booking and not within a certain time. thanks for all the effort
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tarangire National Park by Catherine Sales
This is one of my favorite parks because it's generally the first on the trip and it doesn't disappoint. Lots of variety of animals. I'm not a birder, but our guides were extremely knowledgable about every winged creature. Our main guide and owner of company has published articles on birds.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Serengeti National Park by Catherine Sales
You need to spend several days in this park. We followed the migration of the wildebeest. We literally saw over a million wildebeest finding their way to the Masai Mara. We the wildebeest and zebra cross the Mara. Those that ventured away from the group we quickly found by the lurking crocs. There are more animals than you can imagine. Seeing rhinos is extremely rare and will likely be from 1/4 mile away. You may or may not see leopards and cheetahs. We saw many of both. As you are traveling around you won't see too many other tourists, but there are specific locations (i.e. Mara river crossing) where there will be numerous jeeps with other anxious and excited tourists. The first time we stayed in a Sopa lodge which was great. This last trip with stayed in tents. These tents were walled tents with a toilet and shower. Meals and socializing take place in a large dining tent and camp fire. The tents are very popular and must be reserved about a year in advance. It's a wonderful option for feeling close to the animals. All through the night you hear the bleating of the wildebeests and grunts of others. The smells, sights, and sounds really pull the experience together.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Gombe National Park by Catherine Sales
Seeing the location where Jane Goodall did her working was a dream for me. We saw baboons and many chimps. The chimps are not a guarantee. A tour the day before ours spent two hours hiking and didn't see any. Our group saw them within minutes. You can hike and see amazing flora as well. The park guides are very knowledgable and can provide info on so many different subjects. Don't miss the waterfall during the hike. It's not an easy location to get to, but it was worth. We spent 16 hours in a hired car (one way) from Arusha, plan on flying. I sincerely DO NOT RECOMMEND the public transportation. It's not even slightly reliable, it's very crowded and uncomfortable. Once you arrive in Kigoma you will take two hour boat ride to the park. Spend some time exploring Kigoma it's a pretty little town. Lake Tanganyika "the African Great Lake" is an unbelievable sight. It borders the Congo, Burundi, and Zambia. You make come upon a Burundi refugee camp while exploring. Check the lake out in the early morning when the fisherman are preparing to go out and when the women arrive to do the wash. The colors you will see in this place are breathtaking.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Life Altering!
The Ngorongoro Crater is a unique park. First our guides from World Wide Sararis, was extraordinary. Each was extremely well educated and knowledgeable about the animals, flora, and culture of the area. The weather is not what you'd expect, it's rather chilly in the July morning. Everywhere you look there are animals grazing. It's such a tremendous area that it's hard to believe it's contained within the walls of the caldera. We saw MANY cape buffalo, elephants, baboons, wildebeests, birds, lions, hyena, gazelles, hippos, zebra, warthogs, and so many other animals. The drive down and back up is breathtaking. I have been there twice, 2008 & 2015. First time we stayed in a lodge within the park and it was very nice - Sopa Serana. The second time we stayed outside of the park on a coffee plantation and it was fabulous.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by Catherine Sales
Tanzania is a safe and friendly country. It has the most wonderful parks that are well maintained. More tourists are finding their way to Tanzania due to the difficulties of traveling to Kenya. I have been to both and find Tanzania a far better destination. It simply doesn't disappoint. I plan on returning in a couple of years if not sooner.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic 3 day safari
Our experience with Bubezi Safaris exceeded our expectations. Andy was extremely knowledgeable of all the wildlife in the game park and was excellent at sighting animals. Would highly recommend this safari!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A truly amazing experience!
I can honestly say that the time I spent at Tent with a View was one of the most amazing times of my life. Having never visited Africa before, my first experience was one that I will treasure forever. The accommodation and amenities were excellent and the staff were incredibly friendly. All the staff were happy to chat to guests and made everyone feel well and truly looked after. The safaris themselves were wonderful. Being able to view such majestic animals in their natural environment far surpassed my expectations and the variety of animals we saw was just wonderful. Never once did our trip feel touristy, the whole experience felt like the true Africa and it made for such an amazing time! I have already recommended Tent with a View to several of my close friends and I wouldn't hesitate to continue to do so.